Month: March 2008

For the third straight week, East-Bay native Kristi Yamaguchi and her partner, Mark Ballas, tallied the highest scores on “Dancing With the Stars,” but this time theÂ solid marks came with some minor criticisms.

Judge Carrie Anna Inaba said Kristi’s tango was technically sound, but lacked the required passion. “I don’t feel much when you dance,” she remarked. And Bruno Tonioli said the routine was “sharp, clean and clear,” but wanted more “emotional engagement.”

“Lust. I want you to be a dirty girl!” he snarled, promptingÂ Kristi to playfully flashÂ someÂ leg.

Despite the criticisms, Kristi and Mark once again garnered scores of “9” across the board forÂ their third straight 27 of the competition. Â

San Franciscoâ€™s Magic Theatre today announced that Loretta Greco has been tapped as its next artistic director.Â Greco will replace Chris Smith, who is stepping down after five seasons as the top dog of the theater, which is dedicated to showcasing new works.

Greco has worked everywhere from New York to Ashland but she is best known locally for searing productions of David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow,” David Harrower’s “Blackbird” at ACT and the dark gem “Morbidity & Mortality”
at the Magic. The director will take the helm of the company immediately, although she wonâ€™t relocate to the Bay Area until this summer.

The Magic remains most famous for its status as the home of Sam Shepard during many of the most fertile years of his playwrighting career. In recent seasons, the troupe has also generated buzz with high-profile projects by artists as diverse as Mamet, Bill Pullman, Edna Oâ€™Brien, Rebecca Gilman, Paula Vogel, Charles Mee and, yes, Joan Rivers as well as it edgy new works festival, the Hothouse.

For his part,Â Smith, recently spotted in the audience at SF Playhouse’s production of “Coronado,”Â says he has theatrical projects up his sleeve and that he intends to stay in the Bay Area.

In the run-up before Caroline Kennedy’s appearance as part of the Unique Lives & Experiences series next Monday, which I am hosting and moderating, I’ve been delving into some of her recent writings. I was most struck by her deeply moving New York Time’s op-ed, A President Like My Father, and I thought I’d post it here for anyone who may have missed it in the pages of the Gray Lady.

If you’re on pins and needles about how the Democratic nomination will pan out, where the country is headed and what the fate of democracy in America will be as the next generation comes of age, I’d consider this required reading.

Chanel’s signature fragrance helped to make Coco Chanel the reigning doyenne of fashionista divas long “Ugly Betty” got braces and America’s Top Model ushered the term “modelicious” into the slang lexicon.

Now, the spirit of the legendary style maven is being channeled by Andrea Marcovicci. The celebrated actress/chanteuse, who performs frequently on the Bay Area cabaret scene, is now starring in “Coco” at 42nd Street Moon in San Francisco. This Alan J. Lerner & Andre Previn tuner may be best known for its 1953 Broadway incarnation starring Katharine Hepburn. The musical follows the aging icon down the runway for her 1953 comeback on the haute couture scene, all the while battling the demons of paths not taken. Now and forever, as they say.

I just got an email from a reader who shall remain anonymous complaining that I didn’t mark the half-dozen or so different versions of Still Alive as spoilers.

I don’t make a habit of calling out people who complain, in fact I welcome criticism since it helps improve the blog and I usually do my best to fix the problem, but when I said “complaining” this time I meant “spewing forth a string of profanity that makes Gordon Ramsay sound like Mr. Rodgers.”

Rather than explain why I didn’t consider it to be a spoiler, here’s the conversation my friend Dave and I had on the topic. It pretty much covers my stance on the matter:

Dave: Hey, guess what! When you complete a line in Tetris, it disappears. OH CRAZY SPOILER BURN!
Danny: OH SNAP THE GAME IS RUINED NOW THANKS A LOT! I’m going to play SimCity next SO DON’T SPOIL THAT NOW!
Dave: IT COSTS TEN BUCKS TO BUILD A ROAD
Danny: I HATE YOU!

We here at Gamester would never post a spoiler to a long game with a plot. We will, however, reference story details of three-hour puzzle games when they’re included in wildly popular songs. So be forewarned.

From the screenshots, Ubisoft’s new Wii game Emergency Heroes looks action packed. Described as an arcade racer, players will have to control different police, fire and EMT vehicles. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for a few chopper missions.

As for gameplay, it sounds like it will be an open world title, with the bland name of San Alto. There’s co-op feature that will be interesting. I’m guessing that it will play like the ambulance and viligante missions in Grand Theft Auto series albeit with a lot less blood and violence. You hear about a crisis and race to the scene. This is a family game after all.

Crowded House has confirmed its first North American tour of 2008. Instead of single dates in many cities, the band is going back to a few of its favorites to do short residencies in smaller, more intimate venues in those markets. Slated to start on April 28 in New York City, the tour will end on May 17 in Los Angeles, with four cities in between. The tour is still in support of Crowded House’s first record since 1993. Entitled “Time on Earth,” the band is Neil Finn – vocals/guitars; Nick Seymour – Bass; Mark Hart – keyboards/guitars; Matt Sherrod – drums. “Time on Earth” was released on ATO Records on July 10, 2007.

“Time On Earth” was recorded at Roundhead Studios, Auckland, NZ, RAK Studios, London, and Real World Studios, Bath, and was produced by Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon, Ryan Adams) and Steve Lillywhite (U2, Morrissey). Guitar legend Johnny Marr features on two tracks, lead-off single “Don’t Stop Now” and “Even A Child,” a song he co-wrote with Neil Finn. Another album track, “Silent House,” was co-written by Finn and the Dixie Chicks, whose own version of the song appears on their Grammy Award-winning album “Taking the Long Way.”

The press response to the new record was rapturous. “Paste” said, “‘Time on Earth’ is another batch of Finn’s impeccably crafted pop gems,” and the “Los Angeles Times” noted that, “Finn is a master at expressing ambiguity, lyrically and musically.” “USA Today” hailed that, “the melodic gifts that allowed Finn to craft some of the sweetest pop of the late ’80s and early ’90s are still intact,” and then continued to say, “the album’s unpretentious warmth and modest wit offer a refreshing alternative to the winking and whining of some successors.”

Crowded House formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985 and first tasted global success with their massive 1987 hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” They continued to have hits for a decade, including “Something So Strong,” “Weather With You” and “It’s Only Natural.” “Don’t Dream It’s Over” hit #2 on the American Top 40 and won the band Best New Artist at that year’s MTV Music Awards, while “Something” reached the #7 spot. They produced four studio albums and a best-of compilation.

It was announced during GDC that Still Alive, the cult hit Portal theme and the catchiest song since Feel Good Inc., would be coming to Rock Band. (In fact I saw the great JoCo himself play through the song at his concert at the Great American Music Hall.) I was perfectly willing to throw handfuls of cash at my TV, to empty my bank account and mail it in a big burlap sack to Harmonix, for the opportunity to have it. And I certainly wasn’t alone.

Harmonix listened to this feedback and based on that set the price: nothing.

New computers were delivered to the Child Support Enforcement Division in the Department of Public Health and Human Services without Solitaire and Minesweeper. The employees complained and the games were installed. Of course something this absurd didn’t take long to make it to the papers and due to the public outcry they were soon uninstalled.

The reasons the complaining employees gave? The games used to be on the computers and they’re on the computers for other departments.

Here’s what I want to know: Who goes to their bosses and complains that they can’t play games anymore on company time? Isn’t that an admission that you spent a lot of company time playing games before, as well as an admission you’re going to spend a lot of company time playing games in the future? And why did it work? I wonder if it would work for me…

Note to my editors: I couldn’t help but notice Peggle wasn’t installed on my new computer. I really think you should notify Systems and have that situation rectified as soon as possible.

Microsoft has struck a deal with the Safran Company to provide original content to Xbox Live, according to the New York Times.

Mr. Peter Safran (I like how the Times uses courtesy titles) said the first shows are 1) coming out this fall, 2) will be scripted and 3) last about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Times quotes Scott Nocas, global marketing manager for programming of the Xbox Live entertainment service, as saying the move will be “the first of many.” Hmm, I wonder who else would be jumping aboard. Definitely, not Columbia Pictures that’s for sure.

What shows would you want to see on an Xbox TV? I’d be crossing my fingers for something along the lines of Drunk History on FunnyorDie.com or maybe another season of Jericho? (Ha, fat chance)